Archive for April, 2010

Under increasing pressure from the two other musketeers involved in FindWine, here I am writing MY first ever blog – Though don’t expect to find any compromising pictures of me in an orchard at the end of it…

Time for an introduction I guess: I’m John, and I am the middle partner at 33. (wait to see if Martin reveals his true age..) FindWine is my passion and many moons ago I came up with the idea of a wine searching website that would allow users to ask for a wine they tried somewhere and we, like sniffer dogs, would search it out and quote accordingly. I bought the domain name yonks ago and then really it all went cold as I found myself immersed in a serious career in the trade.

The idea never truly faded away: it just evolved. I renewed the domain every year in the hope that one day I’d find the time to really work on it. Then out of the blue I decided to contact Mike to catch up on life and what a chance meeting that was. It was clear that Mike had a passion for wine and was keen to forge a way into the industry. We started talking ideas, FindWine came up, and it all seemed to just spring into existence. I’m delighted with the way the site has developed and i’m excited about what the future holds.

My background is Wine. Always has been and I hope it always will be. My parent’s drank it, although my Mum admits to loving Liebfraumilch & Mateus Rose back in the day, and may still have the candle holders to prove it… and while Uni was mostly Cider, it was traveling and working in vineyards after I finished that really caused something to spark in my brain. I have since been lucky to have worked for some of the finest importers and retailers of wine in the UK and am proud to be involved in the dynamic side of this industry.

FindWine is as much a concept as it is a website. We’re not trying to just sell some wine to make a buck, but genuinely feel a frustration at how the public perceive wine and how they are instructed to buy it. Too much emphasis on either prestige or price. I’ve always struggled to come to terms with certain viewpoints of the trade as ‘wine’ is so often viewed as ‘elitist’ for some or ‘mass produced’ for others and there is little real understanding of the work behind the scenes or the huge gulf between those perspectives. We are trying to remedy this by suggesting that, yes price is important, and so of course is the origin and quality, but you don’t have to buy the brand on the supermarket shelf, or search for that specific product that just won some award somewhere.. we work tirelessly to source wines that we feel fit the bill perfectly in style and price, and we sell them. Once they’re gone, they’re gone, and the next juicy number slots into place.

I believe wine can be the most amazing and diverse product you may ever taste in your lifetime. I never turn my nose up at something new and I never allow reputation to get in the way of an objective opinion.

As the UK claws it’s way out of recession I hope to be surfing a new wave in wine retail, offering a breath of fresh air for old hands and new comers alike.